The San Miguel Market is located very close to the Plaza Mayor. His name comes from the old parish church of San Miguel de los Octoes (here he was baptized Lope de Vega). José Bonaparte ordered it to be demolished in his urban reform of Madrid. The demolition took place on November 28, 1809 and in its place was a square in which a market for perishable products was held, especially fish, and it was planned to build a market that would inherit the name of the old parish.

In 1835, Joaquin Henri carried out a project to cover it, of which only a few covers were executed, eliminating the bad effect that the scattered merchants' boxes produced on the square.

In 1911 the definitive project was commissioned Alfonso Dubé. On May 13, 1916, the San Miguel Market was inaugurated. It was built in two phases, the first completed in 1914 to avoid interrupting the normal functioning of the market.

The cast iron supports of the structure, the distribution of the roofs and the drainage system stand out in its structure. The exterior glazing is much later. The San Miguel market is the only market in the so-called iron architecture which has survived to this day, once the spectacular examples of La Cebada, La Paz and Los Mostenses have disappeared.

In 1999, the Community of Madrid carried out a reform of the market in order to reactivate it, but its commercial activity declined, unable to compete with modern supermarkets and shopping centers.

On May 13, 2009 it reopened its doors cIt is with the objective of recovering and improving traditional activity by creating a new market, with a different, more modern concept. Nowadays it is more of a tapas area between bars and taverns, where we can enjoy different appetizers, wines (excellent offering), beers or soft drinks. Of course, you have to be warned, it is a tremendously popular place, always full and with many tourists so the prices are quite high. But it is worth walking a little inside and enjoying its beauty. Furthermore, I think we all include it in our visits when someone who doesn't know Madrid arrives.

A abrazo.